Street Fighter EX series
Street Fighter EX is an arcade game developed by Arika and published by Capcom in 1996. It was the very first attempt at taking a popular two dimensional fighting game, and bring the concept to three dimensions. At the time of its release, games like Virtua Fighter and Tekken were starting to steal some of the popularity that traditional 2D fighters were enjoying because of their eye-popping visuals. So developer Arika decided to try bringing the popular cast of Street Fighter into a 3D world. The result was met with mixed reviews, but one decision made by Arika helped the fighting game succeed more than any other: the gameplay mechanics remained two-dimensional. While many 3D fighters allowed players to side step in and out of the background, and jumping took on a whole different meaning, Arika decided to leave the gameplay mechanics of Street Fighter II and Alpha alone, and only made the game visually three-dimensional. This meant that fans of the series could play the game instantly instead of having to learn a whole new system. Arika did make some small changes, such as Guard Breaks and Super Cancels, but the game definitely plays like many of the Street Fighter Alpha games. EX also stars a cast that is half popular Street Fighter II characters, and half new and original designs. They managed to keep that ratio of old and new throughout the various sequels. EX was followed up by Street Fighter EX Plus in the arcades and Street Fighter EX Plus α on the PlayStation. A true sequel, Street Fighter EX2 came out later on much improved hardware, followed by Street Fighter EX2 Plus. Finally, Street Fighter EX3 arrived as a PlayStation 2 exclusive launch title. The storyline of the EX series takes place in an alternate time (when Street Fighter Alpha occurred) and is not canon to the official storyline of the Street Fighter series. Music Entitled Street Fighter EX－SCITRON 1500 SERIES, the complete 20-track CD album was released on 21 February 1997 by Pony Canyon, complete with 19-track voice collection. The 13 track live band CD Street Fighter EX Arrange Sound Trax was released on 5 March 1997, with a drama CD released on 21 March of the same year. Sequels A sequel to Street Fighter EX was released for the arcades titled Street Fighter EX2. It was also followed by an upgraded version titled Street Fighter EX2 Plus, which was released for the arcades and ported to the PlayStation. A third console game in the series, Street Fighter EX3, was released exclusively for the PlayStation 2. Reception Critical The game received favourable reviews. Gamespot gave the game 8.3/10, and stated "In the video and audio departments, Street Fighter EX Plus Alpha is pretty solid. Its old characters closely resemble their 2D predecessors", and that "taken as a whole, Street Fighter EX Plus Alpha is a fun game with great gameplay, better than average aesthetics, and a large number of characters." They summarized as "a 3D Street Fighter game worthy of its heritage"[1] N4G gave the game 7/10, praising the new features and the music, and adding "although a little sluggish compared to the 2-D incarnations, it’s still pretty fun."[2] Electric Playground scored the game 9.5/10, with PSX Nation giving the game 90%, Video Gamers First awarding 8.9/10, and Absolute PlayStation with 88%[3]. Edge magazine commended the "multitude of console-only extras". and gave the game 80%, while GamePro gave it 90% and proclaimed it a "worldwide fight-night favorite"[4]. IGN gave the game 83%, stating "this is one of the best Street Fighters I've ever played, and I think it's a good switch. It's still a 2D fighter, but it looks a whole lot better"[5] GameRankings listed the game as the 10th best PlayStation game of 1997[6]. Arika characters Skullo and Jack were both featured in UGO's list of Top 50 Street Fighter Characters [7], while V. Rosso was featured in their list of The 25 Most Memorable Italians in Video Games[8]. Commercial The game sold over 400,000 total copies worldwide after it's first year on sale[9]. References #'^' http://uk.gamespot.com/ps/action/streetfighterexplusalpha/index.html #'^' http://n4g.com/news/515391/lens-of-truth-street-fighter-ex-plus-alpha-retro-review #'^' http://uk.gamespot.com/ps/action/streetfighterexplusalpha/review.html #'^' http://www.mobygames.com/game/playstation/street-fighter-ex-plus-alpha/mobyrank #'^' http://uk.psx.ign.com/articles/152/152120p1.html #'^' http://www.gamerankings.com/ps/198825-street-fighter-ex-plus-alpha/index.html #'^' http://www.ugo.com/games/top-50-street-fighter-characters #'^' http://www.ugo.com/games/top-25-italians-in-video-games #'^' The game qualified for the Platinum Range External links *[http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?game_id=9807 Street Fighter EX] at the Killer List of Videogames *[http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?game_id=9810 Street Fighter EX Plus] at the Killer List of Videogames *[http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?game_id=9808 Street Fighter EX 2] at the Killer List of Videogames *[http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?game_id=9809 Street Fighter EX 2 Plus] at the Killer List of Videogames *[http://strategywiki.org/wiki/Street_Fighter_EX_Plus_%CE%B1 Street Fighter EX Plus α guide] at StrategyWiki *[http://strategywiki.org/wiki/Street_Fighter_EX_2 Street Fighter EX 2 guide] at StrategyWiki *[http://strategywiki.org/wiki/Street_Fighter_EX_2_Plus Street Fighter EX 2 Plus guide] at StrategyWiki *[http://strategywiki.org/wiki/Street_Fighter_EX_3 Street Fighter EX 3 guide] at StrategyWiki *Shoryuken.com (the online center of competitive Street Fighter) *Arika - the developers of the Street Fighter EX series. *J-pop.com interview with Akira Nishitani about Street Fighter EX Category:Arika Series Category:Content